When I was home alone...

I was home alone when she walked in. As I continued with my work in another room, I could hear the sound of kitchen cabinet doors being opened and closed umpteen times... pretty unusual. I decided to concentrate on my work, but how could I? I could hear someone moving the furniture in the living room. It had been almost an hour since she came in and there was yet no sight of her in my room. She never takes that long. 

I eventually walked out of the room and couldn’t believe my eyes. My house-help was caught unawares when I entered the living room. 

She was carefully scrubbing the floor, every nook and corner of the room with detergent and all. She remembered I had requested her to do so a couple of weeks ago after we shifted to this new place. She had complained of knee pain at that time so I had asked her to do the major cleaning whenever she felt better. Today, she surprised me pleasantly... made my day :)

 

Now I believe - Good house-helps do exist!

Why didn’t I mention her name yet? Well, I’d prefer to be selfish here and won’t give away the details of my God-sent angel!

Hamaare Pass World Cup Hai!!!

India has finally won the World Cup after 28 years! It's 2nd of April 2011 and I wish to write a similar post after 4 years as well :)

Woh phaataakon ki awaaz, woh family aur friends ke phone calls, woh fb aur twitter pe hazaaron wishes ... it's Diwali in April!!!

No words can describe our joy... the tears that came rolling down as Dhoni hit the winning six said it all. The phone calls that did not stop after then, the fleet of bikers that took over the Navi Mumbai roads screaming "India Jeet Gaya, India Jeet Gaya...", the fireworks... said it all.

I have just one thing to say to those who kept saying that tha match is fixed... justify the emotions of the team!

We should be proud of Dhoni who performed so well today... the pressure is really high for the captain of the team who plays the finals in home town. Of Yuvraj for winning the man of the tournament!

Congratulations to the entire Indian cricket team!

7 Ways How Rajnikanth Can Help Indian Team

Just noticed Rajnikanth at the Wankhede stadium where India and Sri Lanka are struggling for the World Cup.

Now with all the sayings about Rajnikanth, I think the superstar's presence at the stadium can help our team in the following ways:

1. As Dhoni hits the ball, Rajnikanth can clone it into 10 so that we get 10 boundaries at one go.
2. Rajni has the power to convert all the betting numbers into batting scores
3. Rajni can fast forward running between the wickets
4. Rajnikanth is the fifth umpire
5. As we all know Rajnikanth beat Newton long back, now he controls gravity and when the ball hits the ground
6. When a Sri Lankan player drops a catch, it is actually Rajni effect. Rajnikanth stares at the ball so hard that the forceful vision makes the ball slip through the fielders hand
7. Rajni also controls inertia of motion... so when a SL fielder actually runs to stop a ball and reaches in time, he just can't stop himself to pick it up

You may also like:
Live and funny quotes for India vs Sri Lanka World Cup Final

My quotes and tweets for India vs Sri Lanka WC Final

Aah the WC 2011 final between India and Sri Lanka live. And with the wifi connection in place now, I am all tempted to tweet and comment and criticize and cheer!

Here are my observations as the match continues:Aailaa Sachin ko atthara pe khatra!!!

1. Kuch toh log kahenge... India jeeta toh match fixed... haara toh khelna nahi aata!
2. Rajnikant is here to cheer, so India can or India can't?
3. Indian team is back with its Four-play!
   

Read more - Sport & Spirit: Live and funny quotes for India vs Sri Lanka World Cup Final

Why I love Google - Gmail Motion BETA

Google has always exceeded our expectations. While Wonderwhweel and Recipes won my heart, Google's latest - the launch of Gmail Motion is something that makes us go - Why didn't I think about this? Check it out here.

India is sick today!

Today, the roads are empty, the trains aren’t crowded and offices and colleges have very poor attendance. Why? Because most Indians are ‘sick’ today (read - they are gonna watch the India Pakistan World Cup 2011 semi-finals!). 

Thank God, this once, for the huge range and possibilities of medical problems that can be used as excuses to take a day off from work and colleges. 

Some of the common medical excuses that can be used are:

1. Viral fever / flu... You have been coming to work all these days with fever, but today it has crossed the 103 degrees mark
2. Bad cold... you can’t afford to be at office / college and spread the cold
3. Headache / migraine / sinus... blame it on the work / study pressure
4. Stomach upset... you were working late last night and had to order food from a local restaurant
5. Toothache... you have to get your root canal done today
6. Excessive dehydration... it’s the heat
7. Muscle sprain... you had to push your wardrobe to find an important document
8. Conjunctivitis... it spreads fast, doesn’t it?

Well, the can be really long but I’d rather concentrate on the match right now!

5 Excuses To Skip Office & Watch India Pakistan Match

We all are looking forward to watch the India-Pakistan World Cup 2011 Match. Some call it unnecessary hype, others speak diplomatically, but the fact is we all enjoy Ind-Pak cricket matches more than anything else (ask your heart!).

Oh, but India will take on Pakistan on a Wednesday, March 30 2011... a weekday when we can’t think of taking a day off. Or maybe we can by using any of these 5 creative excuses to take leave from office and watch the match comfortably:

1.       There was a break-in at my house and the thief took away the main door. Can’t lock my house, can’t come to work.
2.       I was using Fevikwik... par chutki hi chipak gayi. Tried separating the thumb and index finger but now all my fingers and toes are stuck together. Can’t move, can’t make it to work today.
3.       Broke my glasses, can’t find my contact lenses, can’t see a thing. How will I reach office?
4.       I just realised I was to get married today. With the extreme work pressure at office, I completely forgot about it.
5.       I have been kidnapped. They want you, my boss, to pay the ransom (your boss will hang up before you continue).

NOTE: Try these excuses at your own risk. Loss of job and kidnapping issues aren’t my responsibility. I am just trying to help here... there’s a huge screen at my office for the match ;) Hey don’t turn green now!

Holi 2011 Celebrations & Building Friends!

Nothing beats the fun of celebrating Holi in your building!

As kids, on the day of Holi, we used to hit the building terrace in the morning. Some drew water from the tanks and mix colours in buckets while others blocked the water exits on the terrace to create a little rangeela pond! After getting completely drenched and unrecognizable with all sorts of colours all over us, we would sit together for a session of Holi songs. Aah the Rang barse beegey chunarwaali and Holi ke din dil khil jaate hain...

Those were the days when playing with water balloons was not considered wrong. I and my brother would target the pedestrians from our house at the fourth floor and hide before they noticed us. But we were pretty sabhya at that time as well. We would not aim water balloons at: 

1. Elderly people
2. People perfectly dressed and on their way to work
3. Aunties and uncles who we thought would most definitely start screaming
4. People on bikes and bicycles

During our degree college days, for some reason the terrace was permanently locked and Holi masti stopped. And then for a few years Holi just meant a holiday with sweets and applying gulaal to family members and neighbours.

It was in the year 2009 that I played Holi with all the colours and water again. It was my first Holi after marriage and it was so much fun enjoying the festival with the neighbours from my new residence! I never thought the masti-Holi times would return again!

Today, we had a mega celebration at our building. Almost every resident turned up in the premises in the morning. There was an unlimited supply of colours (non-toxic, natural ones) and some buckets that did the magic. There's nothing like playing Holi with kids... doesn't it bring out the child in us? Team it with delicious pav bhaji, pulav and jalebi, and the get-together we await for months together! Can't thank the organisers enough!

We are lucky to have so many festivals, they bring us all together and make us smile and forget all routine for a while, isn't it?

If you managed to read this entire post, you might like my Holi articles on indiancolleges.com:

• Holi Festival: 10 Tips To Avoid Monday Blues, Greens And Pinks 
• Holi Festival: Dos & Don'ts

My 10 Excuses to Skip Exams

I got this chance to write an article on excuses to skip exams for indiancolleges.com. Well, I was more than happy to let my creative juices flow.

Image courtesy: indiancolleges.com

I have compiled a list of 10 Excuses to Skip Exams (ab college ke itney saalon baad aur kuch nahin yaad aaya) of which some are:

1. Play Ghajini. Enter the class with words like “Exam”, ”Math”, ”Answer Sheet”, ”Marks”, “No Cheating”... written all over you. Put up a blank face when anyone asks you anything.

2. ‘Faint’. ‘Regain consciousness’ after they sprinkle water on your face. Repeat this twice so that the invigilator is convinced that you are seriously sick.

8. Somehow manage to break a honeycomb and release a swarm of bees in the classroom. Apne saath doosre students ka bhi bhalaa karo ;)

10. Five minutes before it’s time to distribute question papers, keep insisting that you want the paper immediately. Piss the invigilator off by insisting every 10 seconds. And when he gives you the paper on time, look at your watch and tell him that you can’t accept the paper and appear for the exam now as rahu kaal has started!

Read the entire list here and if you wish to add ideas, please do so on the indiancolleges.com site.

Bhai ka idea!

There are probably two reasons you found this title interesting and thought about reading this post:

1. Bhai naam ka dum
2. An idea can change your life

Ab read karne hi lage ho toh I won't disappoint you. This post is all about BHAI KA IDEA but the Bhai is my brother Anup and his idea (not Abhishek's) for the THINK BIG contest organised by WagonR.

Boley toh his idea addresses our smallest searches that even Google search has no clue about... yes, you read it right!

It's about your search for those most important people in your life whose presence doesn't affect you until they disappear / are required to fix up something.

• Househelp quitting
• Bathroom tap over-functioning
• Short circuit (nah, not Arshad Warsi's kid)

You got the idea, right? Do read more about it here and if you think (listen to your heart here) he has thought about solving your smallest worries, do share it on Facebook and vote for him.

Soch lo, bhai ka idea hai ;)