On scheming women and Pink Glasses!

Has anyone had the patience to sit and watch the Saas- bahu soaps on Indian TV?
If you have, then am sure you have come across, "The other Woman" who has seduced/ bewitched/ snared the innocent hero! The innocent hero is so ensnared that the Holy wife has to ride to his rescue and save him from folly that will bring ill-repute to his Family Honour!

St Christine feels that most women by default fall into the category of "The other Woman!" It has never occured to her that "The other woman" has better ways to spend time than mollycoddle some slly spineless 'hero!"... But then, such things never occur to her!

and she in her holiness needs to counsel these fallen women to mend their ways! Hmm... Did I tell you that St Christine wears Pink Glasses?

To be peterpan

He can fly!
He flewed!
Now you try.
I'll think of a mermaid lagoon, underneath a magic moon.
I'll think I'm in a pirate's cave.
I think I'll be an Indian brave.
Now everybody try.

One, two, three!
We can fly! We can fly! We can fly!
And down we fall again!

This won't do. What's the matter with you? All it takes is faith and trust. Oh! And something I forgot. Dust!
Dust?
Yep, just a little bit of pixie dust. Now, think of the happiest things. It's the same as having wings.

- :) from Peterpan!

The price of one's soul!

Do you guys remember 24th Pullikesi's whose soul is not worth any precious coins! Well this post is all about price of ones Soul!

Keeping in mind that I only write about serious issues - I have decided to tackle the topic of materialism and mercenaries!

Materialism is desire for Maya! I am grateful to all of you for asking "Who is Maya?"

"In most of Hinduism, Buddhism, & Transcendentalism, all matter is believed to be an illusion - Maya. Maya is the limited, purely physical and mental reality in which our everyday consciousness has become entangled." Text adapted from Wikipedia.

And mercenaries are people who sell their souls for Maya!

I have several mercenaries who run after the unattainable Maya! I also suspect it is a case of the forbidden fruit tasting the best! In which case a person can also pawn/sell his/her soul to get the fruit!

And I spy a green christine sitting cross - eyed across the cabin. She doesn't care much for Maya and she won't let anyone else enjoy it! A case of extremely sour grapes!

"Sunshine on de medders,
Greenness on de way;
Dat's de blessed reason
I sing all de day."
Look hyeah! What you axing'?
What meks me so merry?
'Spect to see me sighin'
W'en hit's wa'm in Febawary?
- From A warm day in winter, Paul Laurence Dunbar

I kinda liked the poem, so wanted to share it with all of you.

Good Morning!

:)Good Morning Stranger!

“If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love. Don't be surly at home, then go out in the street and start grinning 'Good morning' at total strangers.” - Maya Angelou

Accused of writing frivolously!

I stand accused of writing inconsequential, frivolous stuff. And the person who has dared to raise the accusation is Sujit (my husband)!

Now make note, he doesn't mean that my writing is boring, he just thinks its frivolous! He also thinks that I am scared of writing on serious topics. Me... scared?

I wonder if I should pay much attention to his observation? Coz eating into me is the fact that he is a trained/ practicing psychologist! Does it give him an inside edge on my psyche? Hmmm...

Keeping in mind the above comment... I have decided to write on the serious issue of law and order and the amazing deductive capacity of our police force. I will also write on 'Dindivanam Slippers.'

To start off - Please make note of the disclaimer: the following bit is entirely hearsay. Any truth in the below statement is incidental and the fabrications are strictly writer's liscence. And no... noone is allowed to sue me!

It so happened that the visitors to the flat were about to leave, when they noticed that their moped was missing! I suppose they never thought someone would want to steal it, afterall, it was a relic from 1980s, almost falling to pieces. That someone would want to steal it is an insult to the vehicle!

My god... why am I writing like this???? Sujit... sorry... this story cannot be told this way! No masala to it...

Ok guys.... a bike got stolen- no... not a bike, moped! A moped got stolen from a 150apartment complex.

Deduction 1 - watchman on duty thinks that somebody actually dismantled the whole thing and threw it over the compound wall, so that they could reassemble the machine in peace piece by piece! (Hmmm... says a lot about the watchman... doesn't it?)

Deduction 2 - The Sub-Inspector has deducted that someone from Dindivanam stole the 1980 relic. This is truly an amazing piece of deduction! This deduction came about based on one slipper recovered from the place of crime! The one slipper, my fellow reader, is the "Dindivanam Slipper". The SI said "Sir this slipper is made in Dindivanam. Only people from Dindivanam wear it. So whoever stole the moped came from Dindivanam!" So the SI has promised to follow-up on this amazing lead and solve the "Case of the missing moped and the single Dindivanam Slipper"!

I think I should go back to reading my Nancy Drews and Hardy Boys! Clue... clue... where is it???

A good weekend is the secret...

... to a relatively happy monday morning!

I also quote a quote which I have taken fancy to... for all of you
" The one serious conviction that a man should have is that nothing is to be taken too seriously."
~ Nicholas Butler.(1862-1947, American Educationist)

Have a good week!

And thus ends another week!

Well mah dahlings....
and thus ends another week!
Now I run away from this land of nothingness
This paid-for-vacation of meaninglessness
This land of avarice and silliness

And where do I go??
I go home

For some much needed perspective
For some relative calm and some much needed sense
For some rejuvenation
Rest and Relaxation

Bye Guys!

I have been castigated!

I got a headache because of my previous post... I have been told off very soundly for not having commented on Makarand.

Now here I am respectfully maintaining the boss-subordinate equation and I get told off for it! As if that were not enough... both Christine and Hema think that I have been rude and are shooting occassional jibes at me!

Since Makarand thinks he needs to be considered unique - all I can say is - Makarand all else pale in uniqueness when compared to you. You are an act by yourself! There that is the best thing on uniqueness I have mentioned so far!

Anyway this post is not about any of them, its about the 24th Pullikesi :)- And I also want to talk about Topper and Ramada. :) Then there is Casper - the friendly ghost!

Now Topper and Ramada - what can I tell about them - the hotshots so immersed in themselves and the world they have created for themselves - one dependant on the other for successful completion of the mission! :)

Oh 24th Pullikesi - for the uneducated ... the 24th Pullikesi is the direct descendant from a royal family - he is in-charge of all things he surveys and his soul is worth no precious coins - just like his esteemed predecessor the 23rd Pullikesi. Well any which ways, his ill - fitting trousers are a must buy for the fashion conscious.

And then there is Casper - the friendly neighbourhood Ghost :) an interesting animated character - don't you think.

Well, I suppose, how these above mentioned characters connect? Well now imagine if we had a movie plot binding them all together... His Highness 24th Pullikesi with his trusted and incorruptable soldiers Topper and Ramada and the friendly ghost casper set out to conquer - unconqured lands far and wide! Hmmmmmm.... ?

Any takers :)?

Hema is a unique individual - so is Christine!

And then there are some individuals who belong to the never never land :), few others have been transported from the cartoon land and then some others come from the zoo/ forests!

I know that, my reference points to world and people in it has drastically come down... and most inferences are from my immediate neighbours. Betty as I mentioned earlier is a nice girl... then the other immediate points of reference include Saint Christine, Hema Little and Makarand.

Given the fact Betty is a nice girl - I refuse to use her as a reference point in this post. Also the fact that Makarand is my boss acts as a big deterrent in using him as the reference point!

Now for the people who remain and from whom I get inspired everyday:

Saint Christine is a unique individual who comes from the never never land! We need to find a Peter Pan for her to play Tinkerbell to!

And every one in the office will willingly acknowledge that Hema Little needs to be transported to the Disney studios. And she will fit in well with the animated/ cartoon characters. As a matter of fact I am sure she'll run away with the Oscar for the best animated character!

The story of love and post valentines blue!

:) Good Morning India!

This topic actually is a lift off from my friend Chandra's questionnaire. Not that I received the questionnaire yet... but he was talking about it and I thought of this topic to write.

I did tell you, tuesday the day clears a bit , so my brain is in semi - work mode!

And I anyway love writing on the topic of love.

Hmmmmmmm... Well I am not going to make biblical references to what love is here - its well recorded and I am sure most of us know - 1 Corinthians 13: 1-8. But that apart love also means :) red roses, chocolates, gifts and good food - and yipee we have the valentine's day. Poor St Valentine must be turning in his grave!

That apart that is the day Pink Panther found his love jodi! poor guy he had to wait for Feb 14 to find that one true love of his love.

But then we have Christine... who only loves the Good Lord and has decided to maintain her spinsterhood for eternity! And then we have Hema who is hunting for love... no... she is hunting for the guy she should marry. Or should I say... she is hunting for the love she should marry (those are her words).

Then ofcourse, we have the married ladies... who couldn't be bothered... they have love and life! :) or so I think!

Weekends are sacred!

I suppose everyone finds time to blog on saturday and sunday, but these are two days I do not allow myself to go near my computer. One reason is that the days are strictly family days to eat, to sleep and make merry!... Two because I have a 2 year old who insists on joining me at the computer, every time I turn it on.:) Although it is cute to see him type away with so much of self-importance... I find it quiet unhealthy to let him spend more than 15 minutes at the screen. So computers are strictly off limits on saturdays and sundays... hmmmmm... atleast until he is a few years older.

Then there is Monday which has, as usual, started with a hangover of R & R... so am taking it slow :).

I need spiritual touch in my life

and Christine - the unofficial saintess, provides me with it everyday! I am going to send her name to Rome I want the Pope to beatify her. Failing this atleast put the official halo around her head and glass case her for her tenacity in leading me to true faith.

She has decided this afternoon that my soul needs redemption and is convinced that, if she doesn't pray for me I am on a direct descent to Hell. By the sound of it even the purgatory will not be safe from me!!! hmmmmmmmm...

All my attempts to convince her that the Good Lord is happy where I stand now ... has not borne fruit. So I leave it up to her to pray for me, while I say a prayer for her Jolly Good God!

:)

Its so blah.... being cooped up in the office!

Today, like most days, is not a day to stay cooped inside the office! It is a day meant for the sun and sand! Nice daiquiris, sound of waves (I don't mind simulated sound :))and a lovely book.

I have been trying to lay my hands on Amos Oz's A Tale of Love and Darkness. Its a book I have wanted to read for quiet a while! I think today would be just the right day. Its a non fiction work - more on lines of memoir. I read somewhere that Oz wrote this book after the death of his mother!

Hmmmmm... or some nice music, maybe even karaoke. Ya that'll be fun!

I have this problem - on Monday I have a hangover of the weekend's R & R, on tuesday the day clears a bit, wednesday is the day I work, thursday I start winding down... on friday my brain refuses to think of anything related to work! This is truly troublesome... cause Hema sits right next to me... and for some strange reason... even when she is silent and working... she gives out crazy vibes! I did tell you that she is a crazy chicken - right?

Christine is very quiet today! No homilies have come my direction today... that means she is still upset with us for not taking her on a drive and plying her with sinfully rich ice creams! She missed ABBA too! That is unforgivable I guess. :(

Things stand that way for now... shall come back soon with more!

It was icecream and ABBA

:) What better can one ask for... ice-cream and lovely music and of course drive along ECR!

People! I must say, our boss made up for the missed out lunch! We need no spiked tender coconut or fresh seafood!

ABBA and icecream did the trick - just right!

And ABBA being ABBA brought back such fond memories!... hmmmmm... but to be young again!

The reason to get married

In my earlier post I said that marriage is a slow adventure - a few people have been left wondering if I am against the institution of marriage and few others think that I am disappointed in marriage.

I am writing to clarify this impression. Rest assured all, I am blissfully and happily married and recommend it to one and all.

While there are few compelling reasons to stay unmarried... I feel there are some truly, even more compelling reasons to enter the matrimonial state! :)

I won't give the usual c*** about companionship etc... thats all there... you and I know that. I found that the benefits of being married includes getting a free unpaid chauffeur, a coolie of sorts, a baby carrier, a personal entertainer ;)and of course all this comes with free boarding and lodging. Boy! Life is Beautiful!

Marriage also brings in boring things like stability and security in life! But hey... we can't have all things in life can we??

On being a Chicken on Valentines!

Today I'll excuse Hema for being the usual crazy chicken...

Today the honorable position of "the Chicken" goes to Makarand, who after extending us colleagues an invite to go for lunch managed to ditch us!

Not done Makarand - certainly not on Feb 14 - this grave insult shall remain etched in our memory forever!

On being hairy and successful industrialist!

As mark of respect, I would like to mention Makarand, my boss. Because he was the one who pointed out that being a successful Industrialist means becoming bald by 45!

I conclude that all hairy businessmen :) have invariably inherited their businesses from a generation of baldheads!

On curd and speech writing!

What can I say about curd... it finishes of the meal just right! And is a habit I picked from Latha !

And what do I say about speech writing. As hema likes to say bakwasoon ka bakwaas!

Its good to be a speech writer among other things, cause it makes me feel good when Industry bigwigs mouth it verbatim. And then there are times when I want to write something silly so that the reader of the written text will read it out and all can have a hearty laugh! Something like " While India is growing at 9% per annum I am growing more hairy with each passing day." Now, can you imagine anyone reading that?

I should do it sometime!

A mention of friends!

:)... This post is entirely on popular demand!

My friends have been demanding that I say something good about them here on my blog. I am finding it a tad bit difficult to be nice on demand but I shall try. Now I have mentioned only the ladies here... on the men I reserve my comments!

Well you know about Naga, apart from being the inspiration behind the blog, she got a nice hairstyle from Bounce recently!

I have also mentioned Hema who is the demented chick/ crazed bear cub. She is hmmmm... she is.... she is... crazy! and that is the nicest thing I can say about her!

Christine... what can I say about christine... she needs to be put inside the glass case and placed on a pedestal... she is the saint! saintess? saintly? :)

Then of course there is Savitha... darling girl she is!

Latha is an inspiration.

Thendral is the breeze.

Theja is amazing... as always

But Hema... she is crazy!

Vidya is the Hog!

Betty is nice!

Vesta is pregnant!

Vinitha is Vinne the Pooh!

And then there is Hema... as I mentioned earlier she is crazy!

Sheesh... the schools these days

For crying out aloud...

The more I think of formal schooling for my little one ... the more jittery I get.
Just yesterday I got to hear this horror story about a Pre - School facility called Primrose. The place requires that the kids they admit in the pre-school learn to knead dough so that their wrists can become strong enough for the writing assignments they give.

Can you believe that? In pre-school what writing assignments do children have?

Also the other requirements of the pre-school include kids being able to identify alphabets, vegetables and colours... oh I forgot... they also require that the child understand and speak English!!! I wonder on what do they plan to teach?

Sheeeeeeesshhh... when I heard this, I kind of hit the roof! I mean... why should a two and a half year/ three year old know any of this? I feel so sorry for the children whose parents put them in that pre-school.

This just goes to show how ineffective we have been in putting an education infrastucture in place. The infrastructure I am talking about is not buildings and etc... as I am sure you understand.

The need of the hour is to put systems and checks in place to monitor the activities and curriculum of Pre-school/ Pre KG and KG . The focus of such institutions should be on children and their childhood. Any school/ schooling system that do not adhere to the set curriculum should be disbanded with immediate effect.

Actually what we need to evolve is effective child rights. I mean, just as all children have the right to education, toddlers should have the right to happy childhood with learning to socialise, playing and fun time being the order of the day, not the tedium of writing A B Cs and learning your colours and vegetables. Childhood certainly shouldn't be about learning to knead dough to strengthen wrists to write.

Anybody who advocates such thing should be put in prison for advocating/ promoting child labour!

Yes I know I sound indignant... but I am so thoroughly annoyed! I wish I could do something to close down the institution. But Primrose is just an example of all that is wrong about our educational system. A lot has been spoken about the system... but the question is who will bell the cat? Who will take the call and say enough is enough...
The politicians/ netas/ babus? nah... they couldn't be bothered.
The CSR aware industrialist? ... :) you are kidding right?
The teachers? ...
The parents? No. Most parents I meet wish/ think that their child(ren) are whiz kid(s) with IQ above 190!
The kids??? Poor little infants with no say on what their future should be about! So no go there either....

So who will take the call?

When was the last time I did something interesting???

Well thats been a while.

I have come to the conclusion, if one wants to do interesting and adventurous things then, do not get married! :) And.. if you do get married...be in no hurry to become a parent.

Now, I do not mean to say that marriage is not an adventure in itself, but it is a rather slow adventure. Which means going one day after another! Slowly...

We can't for obvious reasons, cram one year's activities (!) into a single day... now if one were single and happening then the story is completely different!

Wondering what the obvious reasons are... ?
- loving husband
- adorable baby
- sweet mother
- husband's ego
- Baby's needs
- Mother's 'time for self'
- work (only official)

huff... with all these reasons to consider... where is the time for adventure?

Within the sacred institution of marriage (hmmm...) one has to tread softly, can't run around like a bull set free in a china shop. Bull dozing :) the way through one and all.

Although, I have this feeling that my husband has set me up as a bull, because he tries to wave a red flag in my face so often! But it is of no consequence, I still tread softly! (Although it is not the right gender of the animal... I know you get the idea)

You are wondering about the reason for the post. Well, its nothing particularly important, just felt like writing. :) That happens once in a while.

Of late, I have grown particularly partial to a comic strip in The Hindu called "Rose is Rose". The alter ego of Rose is this super woman... I woke up today feeling like the alter ego :).

So here I am, Super Merin!

Aloha

Oh... its been one of those days.
When everyone around me is busy and I sit and stare. Bad... truly bad...
And I have a den mate who has been acting like a slightly demented chicken or crazed cub bear - but that is Hema for you!

What else can I say about my day
It has been just so blah
With nothing going the right way
I huffed and I puffed
But alas.. it all ends in dismay!

But never fear Merin
for tommorrow is almost here
And off you go home
For life awaits you there :)

Adieu!

:) And that is how I started a blog!

I have finally... finally done it! I have created a blog for myself! and I should thank my friend Naga for this :)... Naga - Thank You.
I have always been too lazy to maintain a diary of my own. Hopefully this will prove a break from laziness.
To all who visit merry times - welcome!