REALisation: Past Perfect, Present Continuous(ly busy), Future Tense

Noticing half-a-dozen strands of silver hair a while ago and the thought of writing on the lines of "When I was young...," would have ideally made me skip this subject. But when I mentally time-travelled into the late eighties, I realised I was lucky to be born much before this era of online chats, online gaming, escalators and treadmills. Not that I am against the online revolution... it helps me earn my bread, butter, jam and mayo, but I realised that back then (suddenly I feel as if I am aging at the speed of light!) childhood was just perfect!

PAST PERFECT

I used to write real letters (I must specify - hand-written ones!) to my nana/nani, aunts-uncles, cousins and my friend Ranjeeta.
The letters to the elders would always start like:
"Pyaari Maasi, Namaste! Aap kaisi ho, ghar par sab kaise hain..."
And the ones to Ranjeeta would go like this:
Dear Ranjeeta, how are you? You know what happened the other day.."

We still retain some of those blue inland letters and yellow envelopes with lots of stamps. Holding and reading them once in a while is an indescribable experience!

Jab main chhoti bacchi thi...

Jab main chhoti bacchi thi
Kahaan sharaarat karti thi ;)


Chidiya awaaz lagaati thi
Aur main jaag jaati thi

iThank iYou iFor iPad

I can't take my "I"s off the iPad (that's when it is plugged for charging or I am in sleep mode). Else, I can't take my hands off the wonderful creation!

I was thinking about buying an iPad 2 for quite some time. But as I waited for the price to come down, IndiBlogger and Dove surprised me by announcing the second prize (iPad 2) for the The Hair and the Tortoise post. For the first time in my life I was happier about the prize rather than the winning part!

I thank IndiBlogger, Dove and all my blog readers straight from my heart. I also thank the Apple team for inventing this beauty. And I wish they take some time off and do not introduce iPad 3 soon... hehe.

Meanwhile, there are some people because of whom I am an active blogger. I have never thanked them in person, so I would like to talk about them here.

Blogging Tips and Best Practices

Most of my friends have been suggesting that I start a blog on blogging. While it might take some time, I have tried to cover some important blogging tips in an interview conducted by Jidhu Jose in his blog Reflections.

Some of the questions answered include:

• Why (the hell) did I get into blogging ;)
• Suggestions for blogging newbies
• Tips on building a community around a blog and social media
• My three favorite blogs 
• Plug-ins that I would you suggest bloggers to have

The interview might not be very elaborate, but you can use the comments section on this page or Jidhu's page to discuss this further. Do feel to ask questions or offer suggestions. Let's learn more about blogging together!

Househelpness

Tum jo mil gayi ho
Toh yeh lagta hai
Ke sab kaam ho gaya
 

Ek tadapte huye raahi ka
Kaam dhaam ho gaya (listen to the original song here)

Jaana na duur hum se
Dekho khafaa na hona
Kismat se mil gayi ho
Mil ke judaa na hona

Househelplessness

Har pal, har lamha
bas usi ka khayaal hai
Har aahat pe lagta hai
ab khatam intezaar hai

Har gali, har mohalle mein
dhoondti phirti hoon usko
Duniya banaane waale
ek Househelp dila de mujhko

I Prefer White!

We just started our first dream home search in Navi Mumbai thinking we can get a bigger space and more affordable options in this area. So while our only concern was if travelling would be really difficult in the far-off sectors, the harsh reality presented itself - Black is in!

We were shocked the way brokers / estate agents openly asked us, "Black kitna kar sakte ho!" (How much can you pay in black.). 

No there wasn't the slightest hesitation in asking for black money. In fact, we were looked down upon once we told that we will only pay in white! Guess what, each estate agent we met until now has only 1-2 all-white flats and several in the black-n-white mode. While we insisted to know why the hell we must pay in black, the answer was unanimous - arre builder ko bhi toh khilana padta hai na, woh kidhar se paise layega! As if we are being inconsiderate by refusing to pay in black!

But like builders we too are adamant. We are gonna discriminate and favour the white in this case! 

Do diwaane shaher mein
Raat aur dopahar mein
Aabodaana dhoondte hain
WHITE aashiyana dhoondte hain

Here's a tip: If you haven't bought a house in the recent years and you do not want to deal in cash, be prepared to be super patient in your home search. Give yourself a window of 8 months to find yourself a WHITE HOUSE. I am sure we will, and even you will find the one sooner or later.

Book Review: I'm Not Twenty Four

Book: I'm Not Twenty Four... I've been nineteen for five years

Author: Sachin Garg

Pages:  224
Price: INR 100

About the book:
A story written from a girl's perspective,  I'm Not Twenty Four is Sachin Garg's first book. 

The story is set in Toranagallu, a village in Karnataka. It's about Saumya, a Delhi girl who due to her unisex name lands up in a job typically meant for men and in place she has never heard of. The challenges involved in the job are nothing like what you would expect an MBA student to face. 

Saumya juggles between her thoughts - to continue with her 
emotionally taxing profile or to be a quitter which seems like a practical decision in this case. After all, seeing horrific deaths day after day and informing the concerned families is not an easy task. And then when you are probably the reason for the 'accidents', would you continue? 

But then comes a mysterious hippie who has something about him. Will he help her decide to move out with his move-on theory? Or will stay back with her? 


Book review:
The first half of the story goes very slow. A couple of times I did feel like picking up some other book, but then I went on to read as the author promised that the story will take me to a world I never knew existed. Was it worth it? Well, it did pick up pace and become quite interesting in the fourth (last) part. 

The main characters are:

• Saumya's B-School roommate and friend Vartika
• Her batchmate Amit who hgets place in the same company - Lala Steel, Toranagallu
• Malappa, a fun-to-be-with person and smart guy, who joins Lala Steel along with Saumya and Amit
• Shubhrodeep Shyamchaudhary aka Shubhro, an interesting guy with an interesting story

During the induction meet, Saumya and gang meet Shubhro (in Hampi) who knows all about the interesting places in the isolated area. Shubhro's story is very interesting - he basically stays in various places across the world for exactly ninety days each. On the ninety first day, he moves on to another city! 

Saumya ends up being a part of the Safety Department and her boss Ashish Rao tells her that she will have to work with him in the Reaction Team of the department. This essentially means she will have to rush to the scene in case of untoward incidents, take the necessary steps and worst, inform the mothers/sisters that they have lost their sons/brothers in a gruesome accident! Who wants a job like this? Malappa and Amit's profiles are obviously less tougher than hers! Hence, it's but logical that she intends to quit sooner or later.


During her tenure, Saumya visits Malappa in the Blast Furnace area, but her visit proves fatal for him! The description is gruesome, but it seems necessary.

She eventually decides to leave for good but then Shubhro lands up in Toranagallu. Attraction takes over and she is left confused again. Now will Shubhro extend his 90-day plan he always sticks to or will he stay back for her? Or should she go away with him? The way Shubhro's disappearance and his explanation for it is handled is pretty interesting. 

Sachin's hand-written note on the first page of the book compelled me to read it through. It was a very nice gesture too! Except for the first half, it was an overall interesting read. Shubhro's story actually is very unique and makes one think at least once to try out his lifestyle. The last blog part looked a bit stretched.


The writing style is simple and you do not need Thesaurus at any point. However, the spelling, typo and punctuation errors could have been avoided. How can you misspell the main place in the story, the place that is the base of the story? The first mention of the place is Torangallu and from thereon it is Toranagallu! 


Still, you can go for this book. The price is justified. And so are the number of pages.


My rating for I'm Not Twenty Four... I've been nineteen for five years: 6.5/10

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This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program by blogadda.com.

There’s always something good about something bad

See the good!

There’s always something good about something bad
Getting diagnosed with a terrible disease
at a young age for instance

You know early on how important is life
and its smallest joys that you never acknowledged
You know early on why health means everything
and that earning wealth is not everything
You know early on that the health is wealth proverb
you ignored all these years has a lot deeper meaning

See, there’s always something good about something bad 
Getting diagnosed with a terrible disease 
at a young age for instance 

You discover that some of your family and friends
aren’t quite the ones who would be there with you in tough times
You also discover that those who were remote acquaintances
are the ones who give you strength and support
Those friends from the past or the recent social networking sites
are the ones who give you the will to survive

See, there’s always something good about something bad 
Getting diagnosed with a terrible disease 
at a young age for instance 

You become wiser like you never thought
and eventually stop worrying about what the world would say
You don’t unnecessarily bother about those so-called near ones
and feel happy that you have identified the real dear ones
You learn that life as you know is the life around
the people who define you, the people who really matter

See, there’s always something good about something bad 
Getting diagnosed with a terrible disease 
has its own hidden meaning 

Image courtesy: office.microsoft.com

The Hair and the Tortoise

Windy Weather! Should have used a scarf!

It took me several years to slowly and steadily realise the importance of good hair and hair care. 

As a kid, I used to have really nice, long and full hair. The only time I had No Hair during my childhood was when I had to become taklu for the mundan ceremony. The rest of the days included proper oiling (thanks to my mother and grandmother), use of Shikakai (since shampoos weren't that popular back then) and lovely hair styles courtesy my mother. What did they call it? Oh yes, Sadar Choti!

I grew from the flowerpot style pony to the lots-of-colourful-clips/bands style to the French bun to the multiple braids and what not! Hair fall was a term I did not understand. Of course, I must admit that while in school I  did have the lice trouble a couple of times but it was taken care of soon with a specific solution meant for the purpose. Dandruff? I learnt what it was only much after I started working.

I remember a Wow Moment! One fine day, two girls from my building came over to my place to seek my mother's permission for something - they wanted me to accompany them as they had joined a hairdressing class. Nah, they did not want me to join them in the training, they wanted me to be their model!!! For as per them, I had the best hair to help them try several styles! Since I was okay with it (actually overjoyed), my mother allowed me to go with them. Ah the praises I got from the girls there! I was flying in the air and I was just in my early teens!

Now, as I reflect back, I think I started taking my hair too casually. Then came college life which I thought was busy. Then came work life which made me think college life was easier. And then came married life which made me think... sorry, which left me with little time to even think ;)

After experiencing dandruff a couple of times and hairfall that is strangely more during rainfall, I decided to get serious about my hair. That one wow moment of my teenage years made me remember how really good my hair used to be. And what have I done (or not done) with it with years of busy life and stress.

Would you rather use a wig?

Now, like some New Year resolutions, I was not quite able to keep the self-promise to take good care of my hair. The better days were when there were some functions, meets, festivals, interviews, my marriage preparations, parties, etc. The rest 300+ days, my hair care regime took rest!

Now with my bad health and strong medications since over an year now, I know my hair's losing its sheen faster. And I have seriously started taking care of it for two reasons:

1. I know when I take good care of my hair, they make me look good. And I feel happier which is good for my health.
2. If I won't, who will?

There are several rules I follow to ensure I treat my hair well. Following is the list of 12 little things you too must do to take care of hair (I suggest you try these too and don't delay / go as slowly as the tortoise):

1. Oil your hair. It can be boring but it does help.
2. Treat yourself to a hair spa once in a while. Your hair deserves it. After all, it adds meaning to your face!
3. Shampoo at least 2 times a week. Use a good shampoo followed by a good conditioner.
4. Apply the right kind and amount of serum. You can use it daily too, but choose a good brand.
5. Intense damage treatment hair mask (I have tried Dove) is a bliss! 
6. Use a scarf / dupatta while travelling in open air / when you have to be in the Sun for long. Use an umbrella to keep your head and hair cool when the heat is scorching.
7. Do not use too much of hair spray. Avoid it as much as possible. It ruined my hair on my wedding day!
8. Avoid using too many chemicals (especially alcohol based) on your hair. You are not a chemistry lab platform, are you?
9. If your are planning to take a dip in the pool, wet your hair first. 
10. Do not use hair dryer frequently, towel / natural drying is the best. If you have to use, go for the cool mode.
11. Eat healthy. Yes, good food nourishes hair too! Fruits, green veggies, cucumbers, onions... Google it and you'll be surprised!
12. Sleep well.

I am sure, you too have your set of tips to enhance those tresses. Do feel free to add to the list and let's all flaunt gorgeous hair.

Rules can be boring, but more often then not, they are meant for something good.
So, baal ki khaal mat nikalo, baal ka khayaal rakho aur baal baal bacho! 
Love is a two-way street: Love your hair and it will love you back!

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Submitting this post as an entry to the Indiblogger - Dove contest.

 
Thanking the readers, IndiBlogger Team and Dove Team for making this a winning entry!